Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of the quantum Brownian motion: Anomalous non-equilibrium currents arising from complete positivity

• URL: http://arxiv.org/abs/2507.23322v1
• Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2025 08:04:41 GMT
• Title: Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of the quantum Brownian motion: Anomalous non-equilibrium currents arising from complete positivity
• Authors: Simone Artini, Gabriele Lo Monaco, Alberto Imparato, Mauro Paternostro, Sandro Donadi,
• Abstract summary: We rigorously analyze the non-equilibrium thermodynamic behavior of various formulations of quantum Brownian motion.<n>Several completely positive and trace-preserving (CPTP) extensions turn out to be thermodynamically controversial.<n>Our results highlight a fundamental tension between quantum consistency and thermodynamic equilibration in open quantum systems.
• Score: 0.0
• License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
• Abstract: We rigorously analyze the non-equilibrium thermodynamic behavior of various formulations of quantum Brownian motion (QBM) using the framework of stochastic thermodynamics. While the widely used Caldeira-Leggett master equation exhibits desirable thermodynamic features, such as the fulfilment of a detailed balance, it fails to ensure complete positivity. In contrast, several completely positive and trace-preserving (CPTP) extensions turn out to be thermodynamically controversial. We show that such extensions introduce anomalous phase-space structures that violate detailed balance at the steady state, leading to non-vanishing entropy production and effective non-equilibrium current of unclear physical origins. Our results highlight a fundamental tension between quantum consistency and thermodynamic equilibration in open quantum systems.

Related papers

• Quantum tunneling and anti-tunneling across entropic barriers [44.99833362998488]
  We study the dynamics of a quantum particle in a constricted two-dimensional channel.<n>We analyze how the onset of quantum corrections impacts the (semi-intuitive) high-temperature behaviour, as temperature is lowered.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-05-06T19:55:55Z)
• Non-equilibrium thermodynamics of gravitational objective-collapse models [0.0]
  We investigate the entropy production in the Di'osi-Penrose (DP) model, one of the most extensively studied gravity-related collapse mechanisms.<n>Our findings reveal that the original DP model induces heating, producing dynamics consistent with the Second Law of thermodynamics.<n>In contrast, its dissipative extension achieves physically consistent thermalization in the regime of low dissipation strength.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2025-02-05T13:47:41Z)
• Fundamental precision limits in finite-dimensional quantum thermal machines [1.9580473532948401]
  We derive dynamics-independent bounds on the relative variance and the expectation of observables for open quantum thermal machines.<n>Our findings provide insights into fundamental limits on the precision of quantum thermal machines.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-12-10T07:54:12Z)
• Experimental investigation of coherence contributions to a nonequilibrium thermodynamic process in a driven quantum system [2.9662527746797536]
  entropy produced can be thought of as a combination of coherence generation and a population mismatch.<n>We experimentally explored this out-of-equilibrium process in an NMR quantum processor.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2024-11-27T00:24:11Z)
• Emergence of fluctuating hydrodynamics in chaotic quantum systems [47.187609203210705]
  macroscopic fluctuation theory (MFT) was recently developed to model the hydrodynamics of fluctuations. We perform large-scale quantum simulations that monitor the full counting statistics of particle-number fluctuations in boson ladders. Our results suggest that large-scale fluctuations of isolated quantum systems display emergent hydrodynamic behavior.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2023-06-20T11:26:30Z)
• Variational Quantum Simulations of Finite-Temperature Dynamical Properties via Thermofield Dynamics [19.738342279357845]
  We present a variational quantum simulation protocol based on the thermofield dynamics formalism. Our approach is capable of simulating non-equilibrium phenomena which have not been previously explored with quantum computers.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-06-11T17:22:55Z)
• Quantum Thermodynamic Uncertainties in Nonequilibrium Systems from Robertson-Schr\"odinger Relations [3.1881182769881233]
  We trace uncertainties of thermodynamic quantities in nonequilibrium systems to their quantum origins. For Gaussian systems, thermodynamic functions are functionals of the Robertson-Schrodinger uncertainty function. We show that a fluctuation-dissipation inequality exists at all times in the nonequilibrium dynamics of the system.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-05-25T14:24:56Z)
• Gauge Quantum Thermodynamics of Time-local non-Markovian Evolutions [77.34726150561087]
  We deal with a generic time-local non-Markovian master equation. We define current and power to be process-dependent as in classical thermodynamics. Applying the theory to quantum thermal engines, we show that gauge transformations can change the machine efficiency.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-04-06T17:59:15Z)
• Dissipation in spin chains using quantized nonequilibrium thermodynamics [0.0]
  We investigate the open dynamics of a chain of interacting spins using the quantized version of the GENERIC equation from classical out-of-equilibrium thermodynamics. We focus on both equilibrium and nonequilibrium scenarios for chains of different sizes.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2022-03-04T08:09:06Z)
• Rapid thermalization of spin chain commuting Hamiltonians [13.349045680843885]
  We prove that spin chains weakly coupled to a large heat bath thermalize rapidly at any temperature for finite-range, translation-invariant commuting Hamiltonians. This has wide-ranging applications to the study of many-body in and out-of-equilibrium quantum systems.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-12-01T16:08:10Z)
• Signatures of Liouvillian exceptional points in a quantum thermal machine [20.83362404425491]
  We characterize a quantum thermal machine as a non-Hermitian quantum system. We show that the thermal machine features a number of Liouvillian exceptional points (EPs) for experimentally realistic parameters.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2021-01-27T17:19:35Z)
• Quantum systems correlated with a finite bath: nonequilibrium dynamics and thermodynamics [0.0]
  We derive a master equation that accounts for system-bath correlations and includes, at a coarse-grained level, a dynamically evolving bath. Our work paves the way for studying a variety of nanoscale quantum technologies including engines, refrigerators, or heat pumps.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-08-05T15:19:29Z)
• Out-of-equilibrium quantum thermodynamics in the Bloch sphere: temperature and internal entropy production [68.8204255655161]
  An explicit expression for the temperature of an open two-level quantum system is obtained. This temperature coincides with the environment temperature if the system reaches thermal equilibrium with a heat reservoir. We show that within this theoretical framework the total entropy production can be partitioned into two contributions.
  arXiv  Detail & Related papers  (2020-04-09T23:06:43Z)

This list is automatically generated from the titles and abstracts of the papers in this site.

This site does not guarantee the quality of this site (including all information) and is not responsible for any consequences.